16 March 2026: F&P Guidance Stakeholder Engagement
The Isle of Man Gambling Supervision Commission (GSC) has published a piece of draft guidance for stakeholder engagement.
What is the Fitness and Propriety guidance?
The GSC is seeking stakeholder feedback on its draft Fitness and Propriety guidance. This guidance will underpin the new suitability requirements for operators licensed under the Online Gambling Regulation Act 2001 and the Casino Act 1986 (“regulated entities”), as well as key individuals such as controllers, directors and senior managers (“regulated persons”).
These new suitability requirements are being introduced by the Gambling Legislation (Amendment) Bill 2025 and are expected to come into force in summer 2026. Once commenced, they will replace the current, differing suitability requirements across both Acts. The new guidance will also replace the GSC’s existing Integrity Guidance.
Purpose of the guidance
The guidance explains how the GSC assesses whether individuals and entities meet the required standards of integrity, competency and financial standing. It is intended to promote transparency and help stakeholders understand what the GSC expects at licensing stage and throughout the ongoing supervisory relationship.
The proposals build on the GSC’s 2025 public consultation on the draft legislation, which first outlined the move to a new suitability standard. The draft guidance clarifies how these “Fitness and Propriety” criteria will apply during both onboarding and ongoing integrity assessments.
What is new about this guidance?
The current integrity guidance focuses solely on character‑based assessments. The new regime retains this element but adds two further categories: competency and financial standing. Together, these three criteria form the GSC’s overall assessment of a regulated person’s or entity’s fitness and propriety.
The guidance also clarifies several aspects of the updated licensing framework, for example, how the GSC may consider the integrity of an applicant’s associates, reflecting changes introduced by the Bill.
Have your say
The GSC is committed to carefully considering all feedback received during this engagement exercise and will make adjustments to the draft guidance where appropriate and practicable.
The GSC will also be hosting an online Q&A session to support stakeholders in understanding the draft guidance, and for any further discussion in person. Full details, including the date, time and joining instructions, will be published in due course.
Once the consultation has concluded, the GSC will publish a further document summarising the responses received and outlining any changes made to the guidance as a result.
Responding to this consultation and questions
You can respond by downloading a .PDF version of the draft guidance and submitting your comments via this form, or by emailing Consultations.GSC@gov.im
How long will we be seeking feedback
We will be seeking feedback on the proposed Fitness and Propriety Guidance for a period of 10 weeks, starting 16 March 2026, and concluding on 25 May 2026.